Feb 6, 2009

South India is set to get a fresh dose of laughter with the launch of Tamil comedy channel, Adithya, from the Sun TV stable. This was announced by the broadcaster in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on February 5, 2009. Adithya channel is set to go on air on February 8, 2009.Adithya’s launch comes amid news doing the rounds that Kalaignar TV is planning to launch its comedy channel.It may be recalled that Sun had launched a 24-hour comedy channel, Comedy Thirai, in September 2008. However, it was aired exclusively on Sun DTH. Whether the new channel would be open for cable TV viewers or only for DTH subscribers, is still not known. The status of Comedy Thirai post the launch of Adithya is also not known.For the past few years, comedy has been a flourishing genre on Tamil television and Sun has wasted no time is harnessing the potential of the genre further. Sun TV and Kalaignar TV together have a majority market share, and with this new launch, their market share is bound to increase further. With the entry of Zee, along with the recent Star-Jupiter JV, the Tamil television space is all set for some tough competition ahead.Sun TV seems to have spared no time in reacting to the demands of viewers and updating its channel bouquet.At the time of filing this report no official from Sun TV was available to comment on the launch of Adithya.